C'est La Vie It's life
by Quill of Thoughts
Summary: This is the story about Nike, a girl who is Turned. She was changed because he thought she was lonely. They make their way down to LA and Nike is dropped onto Josef's doorstep. Josef then takes her in & teaches her about her new life with the help of Mick
1. Chapter 1 Being Turned

**A/N: For the first couple of chapters, there won't be any recognizable Moonlight characters. The main character is mine and her sire is one I based off another vampire in another series (note: it's not twilight). There are a few vampire attacks (done by the main character), just to let you know. Josef is more prevalent afterwards though in the third chapter…maybe. Stick with it please. And please review. I like knowing that at least one person is reading this fanfic.**

**Now, on with the story!**

**p.s. I'm using a lot of settings later on from other fanfics. And I don't own moonlight at all.**

"Hello there," a voice said off to my right. I looked over and saw a young man, about 19-20 years old, with light brown hair and pale skin. He walked up to me and sat down next to me. I looked him up and down and continued to feed the ducks that had gathered around me.

"Go away. Leave me alone," I told him coldly. I often had boys walking up to me and asking me out on bets and dares. I came to this small creek outside of my school to escape from people and boys, not to talk to one.

"I thought you looked lonely, so I figured I would keep you company," he said, not respecting my wishes.

"I like being alone. So go away and ask some other girl out."

"Well, I don't think I'm going to leave."

"Fine." I got up and walked down to a clump of trees that I often took refuge in. Oh, how I would regret that later on…Yet, as I looked back over my shoulder, I saw that the boy was right behind me, his mouth about two inches from my neck.

"I'm going to change you. You're lonely, same as me, so I'll give you some company," he said as he brought fangs down into my neck.

***

I felt something wet flow drip into my mouth. I licked my lips and, swallowing, opened my eyes. I saw that the boy was pouring his blood into my mouth. I tried to crawl away from this monstrosity, yet he didn't let me get very far.

"You're a vampire," I gasped. I had heard of vampires in books and movies, yet I never imagined that they could be real.

"I'm not the only one here. You're one too. If you don't believe me, just feel your teeth," the monster said. Running my tongue over my teeth, I felt that I did have fangs, like his. "Face it Nike, you're a vampire.

"I'm a vampire. I'm a vampire," I muttered again and again under my breath, rocking back and forth slightly. I couldn't believe this was happening to me; I wouldn't believe this was happening.

"Come on, you need to feed," he said, pulling me to my feet roughly. "I've got some blood waiting for you under the bridge just up here." We walked under the small bride and I saw a small girl tied up and gagged. I could smell her blood though, and I _wanted_ it. I couldn't believe it. Here I was, wanting an innocent girl's blood.

"You know you want her blood, just do it. Drink it. Drain her," the boy said, egging me on. Finally, I walked up to the girl and, piercing her neck, drained her blood. Her lifeless body sagged and hit the ground hard. I turned back to the vampire who sired me.

"We need to get going. People will be looking for me soon, so if I want to stay undiscovered, we'll need to get going," I told my sire. He nodded.

"We're headed south. To L.A." We then started running south.


	2. Chapter 2 On the Road

**A/N: Second chapter is up. No one reviewed the last one though…That was sad. Anyway, Josef is in this one. Another vampire attack is in this one also. I got the scenery from another fanfic (thank you for writing Tell Me Why MissZoe!). So, I hope you like this chapter.**

"We'll rest here for a bit. Despite being a vampire, you still need rest. Preferably in a freezer. You'll need to stay as cold as possible, otherwise you'll need to feed more," my sire said.

"What's your name? You've never told me. I don't want to just think of you as 'the monster' or 'my sire'," I told him.

"Victus, Nike. Sit down and sleep. Now," Victus ordered. "We'll feed again later, just to let you know." I laid down and took in our surroundings. We were by Mount Shasta, and as usual during this time of year, there was about a foot of snow on the ground. I heard Victus' breathing grow slow and regular and I looked over to see that he was asleep. I closed my eyes for a minute…

***

"Get up," I heard Victus order. "There's a campground about ten miles up, and we want to get there before the insomniacs wake up again." I stood up, brushed the snow off me, and we started running south towards the campground.

About an hour later, we came up to a set of tents.

"Go feed. Now. I'll know if you don't," Victus said. I nodded and headed off, looking for a suitable victim. I came across a small tent that was only large enough for one person to fit inside it. I listened to hear if there was a heartbeat in there, and there was. I unzipped the tent, and fed on the man inside. This time I fed, I stopped well before when it would kill this man. I zipped the tent back up, and headed back to where I was to meet Victus. I waited a few minutes and then, finally, he turned up.

"You didn't kill your victim. Why?" Victus asked me.

"I didn't feel like killing someone tonight."

"Well, that's taken care of. I finished the job for you," Victus told me, and motioned for me to start running southward again.

"Monster," I muttered under my breath. Louder, I added, "Just how old are you Victus?"

"About a hundred and fifty. I was turned at the start of the Civil War. I was serving with the Union, and was turned about two weeks after I started," Victus replied. "Just to let you know, I'll be dropping you off at the house of one of my friends. He'll take you in."

"Who is this person?"

"Josef Kostan." I ran through names in my head. "Josef Kostan" definitely didn't ring any bells.

"So you will have nothing to do with me. How long until we get to L.A.?"

"Another day or two. To be honest, I don't know," Victus told me.

***

"Here we are. L.A. We'll get to Josef's house soon. Then you'll be off my hands," Victus said. I nodded and we walked down several streets when we came up to a large house. "You'll need to jump the fence. Go up the door, and ask for Josef Kostan." I nodded and did what he said. I rang the doorbell and a man came up to the door.

"Yes? What do you want vampire?" he asked in a cold tone.

**A/N: So! Finally Nike meets Josef. Will he give a place to stay and teach her about being a vampire? Review to tell me if she a) gets a home with Josef or b) Josef leaves her on his doorstep. Will Mick show up? Review and tell me what you want. Please. If even one person reviews, I'll post the next chapter within a week.**


	3. Chapter 3 The Interrogation

**A/N: Okay, I really need to apologize in advance for the following scenery in this chapter and chapters to come. I'm really just working off of fanfiction since all my memories of Josef's place are really hazy. I was watching the series in secret, and so I was more focused on parents not finding out, so, well…Anyways, Nike will officially meet Josef in this one. And thanks to micocoulier for reviewing the chapters. I really appreciate knowing that at least one person reads this story.**

"Are you Josef Kostan?" I asked. This man unnerved me, like only a few people in this world did. I got this feeling that if I made him mad, he could arrange my death without blinking an eye.

"Yes. Now what do you want?" Josef asked again.

"I need a place to stay. My sire has effectively dropped me on your doorstep. He told me to ask you, as a favor to him," I told Josef, keeping my eyes down.

"Who is your sire?"

"Victus. He acted like he knew you," I said.

"That god-forsaken monster?" Josef asked. I nodded. "No wonder you've been dropped on my doorstep. Come on in. I'll ask you more up in my office. There won't be prying ears there. Such as those freshies over there," Josef nodded to where there were several girls in over-the-top clothes were sitting. When Josef mentioned them, they started to occupy themselves with something. Josef opened the door wider and I walked inside. He led me up a staircase and into an ostentatious office area; complete with a mahogany desk and a chair like that a CEO would have in his office. He poured two glasses of crimson blood as he motioned for me to sit in the chair facing the CEO chair as he sat behind the desk.

"So, let's start out with introductions. As you know, my name is Josef Kostan. Yours is?" he asked as he handed me one of the glasses of blood.

"Nike. Nike Minuit," I replied, taking a sip of the blood.

"So, Nike, how old are you?"

"Seventeen now. I was turned the day before my seventeenth birthday."

"So how long have you been a vampire?"

"About three days."

"Have you seen any benefits?"

"The endurance. And the heightened senses."

"Are you involved with the arts?"

"Band and I help out in the theatre. Why?"

"Victus likes Turning people who are heavily involved with the arts. Something about making the arts last forever," Josef said. I figured that there was something that was between him and Victus, yet I didn't want to pry at all. "Anything out of band and theatre?" he added.

"What do you think?"

"I'd be willing to bet that you played piano also."

"How much?" I asked, not thinking much about it. It was something my family did, something to see how sure we were of what we thought.

"A place to stay here. If you did play piano, then you have to find another place to stay. If you didn't though, you'll have a place to stay here. Now, did you play piano?" Josef said.

"I played flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto and tenor sax, piccolo, various smaller wind instruments, a bit of guitar and," I hesitated over the last instrument, finishing up the glass of blood before I continued. "piano. I'll get going now. You won the bet." I stood up and started to leave.

"What do you mean? I thought you only played piano, not all those instruments. Besides, you're only three days into being a vampire and I know Mick would never let me hear the end of leaving someone that young on the streets. Especially since someone did a few months ago," Josef said. "I'll start getting arrangements for you ready. Oh, and I think you should know, Los Angeles is _my_ town. And I can kill without blinking an eye." As he said that, he walked out of the office, leaving me to sit at the desk alone. I didn't know what to do. Especially now since I knew that Josef could kill me. I stood up, and sat down into a corner in the far side of the room.

***

"Nike, how long have you been sitting here?" Josef asked a while later. I looked up at him, trying to figure out how much time had passed.

"Not sure, since you left? I haven't really been paying attention to the passing of the sun," I told him, as I stood up and stretched.

"You mean you've been sitting like that for two days?" Josef asked.

"I probably slept and moved some too. Yet, essentially I've been sitting in that corner."

"Why?"

"I didn't know what else to do."

"You didn't know what else to do, so you stayed in my office," Josef said. "What did you do? Rifle through my papers?" he added sarcastically.

"I told you, I just sat here. Besides, if I went through your papers, you wouldn't know," I told him. He tapped his nose lightly. "Oh, right. My smell would get onto the papers and your desk. I forgot about that," I remembered.

"Come on, I'll show you to your rooms. Since you'll be here for a while, I tried to tailor it to your interests," Josef said, leading me out of his office and down a hall.

"What did you do? Hack into my facebook account? Wait, you would have people do that for you."

"No to both. Hackers are a bit unreliable. I hacked into your email accounts. Just how many do you have? I saw several Google ones, a Comcast, a Yahoo, and several others," Josef asked me.

"I'm not sure. Ten, twenty probably. I didn't exactly keep track of how many email accounts I made," I replied.

"Your rooms are through that door," Josef said, pointing to a door at the end of the hall. I approached the door, turned the doorknob and walked in.

"Josef, you shouldn't have. It's too much," I said.

"Well, maybe for you…" Josef said as he rubbed the back of his head. The walls were a soft blue and the carpet was a creamy white. I loved it. It reminded me of the ocean. "Your room is the first door, there's a library through the second door and a music room through the third."

"A music room?" I breathed as I walked over to it. I opened the door and saw all of the instruments that I had listed off when he asked earlier. Along one wall were shelves of music books. Grabbing one of the books, I walked over to the grand piano and started playing from the first song in the book. I started playing without realizing what I was playing. As I heard the first few notes on the perfectly tuned piano ring throughout the room, I recognized it as _Think of Me_ from _Phantom of the Opera_. I soaked myself in this music, playing it better than I ever had before. I forgot all of my troubles as I played, even forgetting that Josef was still in the room with me, though I heard him sit down in a chair. I continued playing the rest of the book. I was listening to the last cord of _The Point of No Return_ fade from the piano, when Josef started to clap. I was instantly brought back to the present, and I remembered what had happened over the past few days.

"That was nice Nike. I didn't realize you played so nice. I bet you could make a good career in recording music," Josef told me. I stood up from the piano, and pushed past him as I walked out the door. If I didn't get away from him, and find another way to lose myself, or else I would break down crying in front of Josef.

"Nike…Ny, what happened? I thought you would like that," Josef said, stopping me by grabbing my shoulder. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder.

"How do you know my nickname? Only my closest friends call me that," I said softly. Josef looked uncomfortable as he tried to find an answer.

"Well, your friends have sent you hundreds of emails and written on your facebook wall hundreds of times, always using that nickname. I shouldn't have used it. You do know that you can't see them though. That would risk our exposure, and that would be really bad," Josef said, looking in my eyes.

"Why don't I just kill myself now then? It would save you trouble and money probably," I said bitterly.

"Okay, I don't do well with suicide threats. I'm going to take you to a friend of mine. He had the same problem you do, well, he still does, yet I bet he will help a bit," Josef said, forcing me down the stairs and out to a car.

"What friend of yours?" I asked, not really fighting Josef. I knew that this probably was for my own good.

"Mick St. John," Josef replied as he opened the front door.


	4. Chapter 4 Meeting Mick

**A/N: Just to let my readers know, for the next month, I'll only be able to update about once a week. I'll try to update more, yet I doubt that that will happen. **

**A/N2: A lot of people have been asking about Victus. So, I'll answer your question…in a few chapters. So, be patient and you'll figure out the whole Josef/Victus relationship (just to let you know, it's not a slash—far from it…). Enjoy Chapter 4**

Josef pulled me towards a shiney silver car. I instantly recognized it, even though I rarely ever could.

"You drive a Lamborghini?" I asked, awestruck at the foreign sports car. "What happened to not exposing us?"

"Everyone thinks I'm just a business man with a lot of money. Not a vampire that's been on this earth for over 400 years. You on the other hand, can't go out without being recognized. Your picture has been plastered on the news every night, and even though you're a vampire, you haven't changed much," Josef told me as we climbed into the car. I nodded and stared outside at the city rushing past us. After a few minutes we approached an apartment complex and Josef got out. "Come on Nike," Josef said. "Wouldn't want to take this opportunity to meet a like soul from Mick, now would you?" I got out of the car and followed him up to an elevator.

"Who's this Mick? Tell me about him before I actually meet him," I asked him softly.

"He's a vampire, and my only friend who doesn't care about my money. Sad, yet true. Mick and I have known each other for a few decades and we've been good friends. He also has a problem with being a vampire, just to let you know," Josef told me as we stepped out of the elevator. "Stay out of sight for a minute, I've got a plan." Josef grinned a bit wickedly.

"Sounds cool. Fun also," I replied, smiling for the first time since my Turning. I couldn't wait to see Mick's reaction. I hid around the corner, keeping as silent as I could. Josef knocked on the door and I heard it open.

"Josef. To what do I owe this surprise?" a man asked like he was bored.

"Don't act like you're not excited to see me. Would you mind pouring two glasses of blood for us?" Josef asked.

"Yeah, I was just going to pour me some as well, yet I thought you didn't like my blood. 'Non-fat soy vegan crap' I think you called it," the man said. I was beginning to assume that this was the Mick that Josef talked about. "And what is this new scent on you. It's vampire, yet I don't know whom. Who's hiding behind the corner?"

"Nike, come on out. I thought we would fool him for a bit longer. Mick, this is Nike Minuit. Nike, this is Mick St. John," Josef said as he walked into Mick's apartment.

"You have a bit of explaining to do, Josef," Mick said as he poured a few glasses of blood for us. "Starting off, how old is she?"

"Seventeen. She was Turned just a few days ago. Let me guess, your next question will be how well she is adjusting," Josef said, sitting one of Mick's couches and taking a sip of the blood.

"You're right, like always," Mick said. I was starting to wonder how these two people could be friends.

"Of course I'm right. I always am," Josef answered. "She's not adjusting well, which is why I came to you. Please Mick, enlighten her as to what could happen to her if she holds on to humanity." He took another drink of blood, a smirk on his face.

"What? How she'll buy blood? Not drink from freshies?" Mick asked.

"No. About the searching for a cure, not being able to kill when she'll have to, stuff like that," Josef replied.

"Yeah. That can get dangerous for us vampires. I have to ask though, why aren't you adjusting to this life? You can't change it," Mick said. Josef laughed and muttered something under his breath.

"Well, Mick, Josef, I had everything going for me. I was on track to go to some of the best engineering schools after high school, had some of the best friend and that monster takes it away from me. And his reasoning was utterly stupid, too," I told them.

"His reasoning?" Mick asked.

"He thought I was lonely," I replied. Mick stood up.

"He Turned you because he thought you were lonely?" Mick said, his eyes turning silver and his fangs exposed. "He stripped you of your life because he thought you were lonely? Who is this pathetic vampire?"

"Victus," Josef said. "Sit down Mick. It's already been arranged for him to be killed. Now, Nike, I know that you're going through a hard time; every vampire has to go through that. Yet, if you hold on to your life as a human, then you'll end up like Mick here."

"Now I'll take offence to that. Besides, your name, Nike, sounds familiar," Mick said.

"Yeah, it's the name of the Greek goddess of victory," I replied. I often had people asking me if I was named after the brand, and it always was annoying.

"No, I don't think it was that," Mick said. After a few minutes he started talking again. "I remember now! There was an amber alert for you. Something about being kidnapped and that there were no possible suspects. Snatched after school one day."

"Yes, that's her. Which is why we're here in the middle of the night and not during daylight hours," Josef told Mick. "I've allowed her to stay with me for a few months, and we'll see what happens after that." I nearly choked on the last sip of blood in my cup. I didn't exactly realize how long I would have to put up with Josef.

"Yet Josef, what about Simone? What will she think?" Mick asked. Josef lazily waved his hand as if he was shooing a fly away.

"What about her? She'll understand," Josef said. "Once I explain the situation to her, she's sure to understand. If not, things can be arranged. Besides, Nike, do you know why Victus left you on my doorstep?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Probably because I'm not a cold-blooded killer like him," I said. "Though if he had the right person, I gladly would have complied and killed them."

"Who did he force you to kill?" Mick asked. "There was another amber alert, one for a Samantha Johnson. Is that who?"

"Yeah. I knew her, thought she was pretty cool. And then I killed her," I said. "He killed my second victim. Left him alive, though there would have been no evidence to say that anything happened other than an animal bite."

"So he left you on Josef's doorstep?" Mick asked. "No offence, Josef, yet you aren't really the human-loving type. You probably kill someone every day."

"I object," Josef said. "I didn't kill anyone today. Wait, there was this one guy I just killed today, so yeah, you're pretty much right, Mick. Well, Nike, we best be leaving. Good night Mick." I set down the glass that was still in my hand, with a small fracture in it. Josef and I stood up and walked out of Mick's apartment.

"So, Nike, what do you think of Mick?" Josef asked me as we stood in the elevator.

"He has to have a complicated past. I would love to learn what it is," I said.

"Not really. He met a girl, and fell in love with that human girl. She then found out what he was, didn't care, cared then left him. Not complicated at all," Josef said.

"You forgot the fact that he hates being a vampire and wants to be human. He probably also wished he never met his sire," I added.

"How could you tell?" Josef asked sarcastically.

"You know, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. I figured that you would be old enough to realize that," I told him.

"I prefer to think of more important things, and wit of a higher form takes up thinking time. I'd rather think about how to kill the last guy who annoyed me or how to make more money for less," Josef said.

"And Winston Churchill is rolling over in his grave right now," I muttered under my breath as I watched the city rush past the car.


	5. Chapter 5 Poor Simone

**A/N: So, here's the next chapter. After having watched the entire season of moonlight, I finally was able to get this next chapter done. I'm introducing Simone in this one…And I hope (still) that I got the characters right. Please tell me if you think I'm trashing Josef, Mick, Simone or any of the other Moonlight characters. I would like that. **

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for an hour!" a woman asked as Josef stepped out the car. I also stepped out of the car, yet I stayed in the shadows, not wanting to see this woman's reaction to me. From the way she acted towards Josef, I could tell that she liked him a lot.

"Come on Nike, she won't hurt you," Josef said softly as he walked up to the front door. "I'm sorry Simone, yet I had some unforeseen matters to deal with," he added louder. I walked up to Josef, still standing behind him.

"Who's she?" Simone asked. My efforts to not be seen failed, obviously.

"Nike," Josef said, unlocking the door.

"You pathetic cheater! I can't believe you!" Simone said, hitting Josef's back, "What am I, just a drink to you?"

"Don't answer that," I said softly. I knew there would be more yelling, and louder yelling if he answered.

"Wasn't planning on it," Josef replied. "Simone, come on inside. I'll explain it inside."

"You don't need to! Let me guess, you saw her—this hot girl—just standing on the street corner and you just had to take a taste. One thing turned into another and you're meeting in her bedroom. I laughed. I honestly couldn't believe that this Simone could think that.

"No, now come inside. I'll explain things inside," Josef said, turning towards Simone and pulling her inside. I followed behind her, and sat down on the floor facing her and Josef. I thought it was strange as I watched them sit down; even though Simone was mad at Josef, she still sat as close to him as he would allow.

"There are chairs," Josef told me.

"I know. I prefer the floor though," I told him. He rolled his eyes and addressed Simone. "Simone, Nike is a vampire, not a freshie. She never was a freshie either. She was dropped on my doorstep when she was three days old and I was compelled to help her. I don't want another rogue on my streets. Remember what happened the last time?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Josef," Simone said looking up at him as she rested her head on his shoulder. I smirked. If it was me, I wouldn't believe Josef so easily. "I'm sorry for acting like that in front of you, Nike. It was, well…"

"I understand. Josef with another girl would be hard. It's obvious that you like Josef a lot. And that Josef likes you also, yet whether for your looks or your blood, I wouldn't know," I said.

"How on earth would you know that?" Josef said, pushing Simone off of him and leaning forward.

"Well, for most of my high school career, I was a wall flower. I would challenge myself to know people's relationships, and after a while, I was nearly always right. I also forced myself to know various small details, so I grew very perceptive with time." I shrugged. I didn't think it was that major, yet with Josef's response, it seemed like I was able to lift a car.

"How perceptive? How on earth you able to get people's relationships right nearly every time?" Josef asked.

"People who like each other act a certain way. People who don't act a different way. Perceptive enough to remember that every freshie that you had the first night I was here was a blonde, other than one brunette. The brunette had a two piece on, and you were enjoying the sight when you thought I wasn't watching you," I replied. I liked the way Josef responded. He jerked upright and then slowly leaned back in the chair, blinking.

"That is perceptive. Simone, why aren't the other freshies around?" Josef asked her.

"They were outside. I sent them away after a half an hour when you weren't coming back. It is _my_ night. Friday, remember?" Simone asked, looking up at Josef.

"How could I forget? We've spent every Friday and Tuesday together for nearly a year," Josef asked. I looked up at them just in time to see how they looked at each other. It was like how two people, madly in love with each other, looked at one another. I looked away, stood up and walked up to my small flat to find sanctuary in a book or to just collapse into tears. I personally hoped that it would be the former, seeing as how I didn't want Josef to hear my tears. I heard Josef walk up behind me, and it didn't surprise me when he grabbed my shoulder.

"Stop, Nike. What's wrong?" Josef asked me. I shrugged his hand off of my shoulder and continued walking. "Nike, I've lived nearly 400 years more than you. Now tell me."

"Please, just leave me alone for half an hour. That's all. Let me seek sanctuary for only a few minutes," I said, hiding my face from him.

"Why sanctuary? Why do you go to music whenever you're troubled?" Josef asked me.

"I wasn't going to go to music. I was going to books. Now, just leave me alone, Josef. Please," I said. Josef lowered his hands, nodded and walked back to where Simone was still sitting. When he turned down a hallway, I went through the door to my flat and I the tears that I was holding back started flowing down my cheeks. Why, you might ask, was I crying? Well, even I didn't know.

***

"Come on, Nike," Simone said, walking into the small flat. "Josef's getting worried about you. Why don't you have a drink, and get cleaned up. That way Josef will stop fretting over you."

"Josef, fret?" I asked, not believing that.

"I know, it's odd, yet he is. Come on, Josef doesn't have any other blood in this house other than me, so you might want to drink some blood now before I end up going home," Simone said, her wrist stretched out in front of me. I took her wrist in my hand and sank my fangs in it. Her blood tasted good, and this time the experience of drinking blood was more enjoyable, with me knowing that Simone was willing for me to let me drink her blood.

"Thank you," I said after I finished. Simone nodded and walked over to the sink that was in the small kitchen and she washed the blood off her wrist. I stood up and started walking out to the main living area, where Josef last was. As I walked in the hall, I ran into Josef.

"I'm sorry. I didn't notice you there. My mind was on other things," Josef said.

"It's fine. I was just wanting to see you. Thank you for taking me in, Josef," I said.

"It's nothing. I wanted to let you know that I will be gone for some time, so I would appreciate it if you would go to sleep just before, or just after, sunrise. Sun's not good for us," Josef said absently. I nodded and Josef walked out of the house. I walked back into my flat and saw Simone standing in my doorway with a tape measure out.

"What's that for?" I asked, taking a half-step backwards.

"You need actual clothes. Not those muddy, ripped things from when you were human. So, I'm going to get you clothes today," Simone told me. I sighed, realizing that she had a good point.

About an hour later, Simone bid me good day and left the house. I went to the small library that Josef had stocked for me and perused the many shelves. My eyes ran over the book titles, finding many familiar titles. _Sherlock Holmes, Moby Dick, _several Shakespears, and even the entire Harry Potter series. Yet, my eyes paused on one of my favorite series, the Stravaganza series. I grabbed them out and sat there on the floor reading the first one.


	6. Chapter 6 Truth About Thougts

**A/N: So, here's another chapter, up and running! I hope you like this one. You're questions about Josef's relationship to Victus will be answered in this chapter, and possible questions about Nike's feeling towards Josef. Please review, it makes me feel good. And also don't hesitate to tell me that you hate my story/hate how I've made Josef. I want to know what you do or don't like.**

"Nike, what did I ask you to do today?" Josef said a few hours later.

"Hmm?" I said as I sat the book I was reading down, "What did you say? I wasn't paying attention." Josef walked up to me and snatched the book I was reading out of my hand.

"I asked you to do one thing! One! Why aren't you in your freezer? You should be sleeping right about now. It's nearly ten o'clock in the morning. You need to rest," Josef said.

"Fine then. I'll go to bed, _Dad."_ I said, the "dad" part dripping with sarcasm. That seemed to bring Josef up short.

"Th-Thank you. I'm headed to my freezer as well. I'll see you later then," Josef said. He walked out the door and I stood up. Over the past hours I had created something akin to a fort around me of books that I had read. I carefully stepped over the fort—if I had made this without realizing it, I would want to take a picture of it, save it and contemplate what it possibly could mean. I walked down the small hall to my room, took the grimy shirt I had been wearing for several days off and I opened the freezer that was sitting in my room. The cool air that came out felt really nice. I almost contemplating completely stripping down, yet decided against it—I wouldn't put it past Josef to come in here and peek on me if I was naked. I slipped into the freezer, and fell fast asleep.

A few hours later, I woke up, and stepped out of the freezer.

"Simone?" I asked, hearing a heartbeat outside my door.

"Yeah. I've got some new clothes for you. Get cleaned up and I'll have some clothes laid out for you," Simone replied. I walked over to the small bathroom that had a shower in it and turned on the water. After a few minutes I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me. I walked out of the small bathroom and saw that Simone was standing inside my room with jeans and a tee-shirt in her hand.

"Here you are. Get dressed," Simone said. I grabbed the clothes, turned around and walked back into the bathroom. "Wait, it that a tattoo on your back? What is it?" Simone asked. I looked down at my left shoulder and remembered my tattoo. I had gotten a tattoo of a waterfall that ran down my back with several friends of mine on my sixteenth birthday. My friends and I had each gotten a tattoo of one of the elements, so that we could be connected to each other somehow.

"Yes, it's a tattoo. It's a waterfall," I said.

"It's pretty. Now, go get dressed." I nodded and went to get dressed. The clothes fit me nice and Simone nodded approvingly when I showed her. "You look nice. If I didn't know any better, I would be worried that Josef would fall for you."

"He would never fall for me. He's got you for love. And beauty. And blood," I replied.

"You underestimate your beauty. Seriously, I thought you were a freshie when I first saw you. And freshies are widely regarded as some of the hottest people," Simone told me.

"I doubt it," I said as we walked down to the main living area of the house. I saw Josef arguing with a couple of boys in their late teens or early twenties, who smelled human. One had raven-colored hair and the other had sandy blond. "Are those freshies?"

"Probably. They look like it," Simone told me. "What are they arguing with Josef about?" I listened to their conversation.

"_How old is she?" _the blond boy asked.

"_Seventeen. She was sired a few days ago," _Josef replied.

"_She's only been a vampire for a few days?! You expect us to risk our blood and lives for someone that young? If it was someone older, say a few months, I'd be willing to do it, yet not a few days,"_ the raven-haired boy said.

"_You don't understand. She already acts a few months old. She fed on my favorite freshie, and the freshie's alive, and ready to have_ _me feed on her already. Come on, you know that a vampire can't use only one freshie. She can't really leave _this_ house. She's a runaway, or rather, she was kidnapped and there are a lot of people looking for her," _Josef said. _"Besides, you know what I can do if you annoy me." _

"_I'm not doing it. I don't really care much for your threats, sir, and I won't tell anyone about this vampire, so I am leaving. Get someone else to die so that her thirst could be sated," _the raven-haired boy said as he walked out the door.

"If they will be my freshie," I told Simone, answering her question. "The raven-haired boy won't do it, despite Josef's thinly veiled threats. The blond boy will do it though." We walked up to Josef and I looked the blond boy, now working for Josef as my source of blood, up and down, wondering what this person's past was. He had an athletic build, and was nicely tanned, as though he was a surfer, and was quite hot, if I said so myself.

"Who's this? Some of your freshies?" the boy asked.

"No. John, this is Nike," Josef said. He turned to me to explain who this boy was. "Nike, this is Jake, a surfer who also happens to sate several vampire's blood. He's kindly agreed to be your sole freshie for now."

"So you're the vampire. Why don't you have a taste, to see if you like me?" John said, offering his wrist. I took it, sank my fangs into his wrist and drank his blood. His blood tasted quite nice, better than any I had tasted before. About a minute later, I pulled his wrist away and wiped the drop of blood off of my lips.

"Josef's right, you don't take much," Jake said. "I'm just going to pick some stuff up from my place before I settle in here," he added, somewhat absently. He walked out the door and Josef looked over at me.

"You'll have to be careful not to lead him on. I think he'll want to get quite involved with you." Josef told me. I rolled my eyes. If Jake wanted to get more involved, all it would take is for me to drink almost too much blood for him to learn from his mistake. "Oh, and good job with the clothes, Simone, I really like them on her." Simone smiled and nestled up close to Josef.

"Josef, I hate to ask, yet, is there anything new with the whole Victus situation? I just don't think I'll be able to move on until he's paid for his past misdeeds," I said, looking down and feeling ashamed that I was spoiling this somewhat happy moment.

"Victus was found dead in the tar pits. I was in a meeting at that time, so I didn't get to enjoy his suffering, though I would have really wanted to. So, now, you can move on with your undeath," Josef told me.

"Josef, what exactly is your relationship with Victus? You act like you utterly hate him, yet I really want to know why."

"Simple. He leaves his kills out in the open, and has nearly exposed us on several occasions. He was why I was chased by a torch bearing mob. That was not fun," Josef said. "He kills for pleasure and Turns people, thus siring hundreds of rogues over the past centuries."

"So how many of your freshies has he killed?" I asked. Simone dropped her arms from Josef's neck and walked away from us, also steering several other freshies away.

"About twenty. All were my favorites," Josef said, lowering his voice so that his freshie's prying ears wouldn't hear.

"So I really wasn't the reason why you sent people out to kill Victus. You wanted to protect Simone from him. Why, might I ask, did he do this?"

"He said I killed his wife. And yes, it was for Simone," Josef said. "I hadn't thought of Victus in decades, and when you mentioned him, I remembered what he's prone to do, and since I've been seen with Simone, I knew she would be a target, and I didn't want her hurt."

"That makes sense. Could you tell me when Jake gets back? I'll want to feed again soon," I said, starting to run upstairs. I heard Josef run up behind me. I chose to ignore him.

"Stop. Tell me what's wrong, what's going on in your head," Josef told me.

"You wouldn't like it if I told you," I replied.

"I want to know though. I can't just let you mope around all day."

"Isn't that what you do though if you're lonely? Can't I do that with these thoughts spinning in my head?"

"What thoughts?" Josef pressed.

"Thoughts of me kissing you! Thoughts of what could happen if you liked me! Thoughts of you…" I said. I didn't want to admit it, yet I had fallen head over heels with Josef. I could tell though, that that brought him up short. "I run away from you and Simone because it hurts me too bad. I like you Josef, and I can't help it."

"Well, of course you like me. What girl doesn't?" Josef said, seeming to recover from the initial shock of me actually admitting what I was thinking.

"I really can't believe what I like about you. You're so sarcastic, yet you're wanting to help me. And below that mask of cold sarcasim, something happened. I can see it in your eyes; there was someone you loved, and you feel responsible for her death," I said.

"That's too close to the mark. Get out of this house. Now," Josef said, pointing towards the door. I looked at him, yet when I saw the bloodlust in his eyes, I decided it would be best to leave. Quickly, I ran out the front door.


	7. Chapter 7 Mick Clarifies Things

"Josef told me you might be coming here," Mick said as he opened the door to his apartment.

"You talked to him? Did he happen to say why he kicked me out so suddenly?" I asked as I sat down at the small island in his unnaturally clean kitchen.

"No. He just said that you might be dropping in for a visit. He didn't even say you had been kicked out. Mind telling me why?" Mick asked.

"Always the investigator…" I muttered softly. "I don't really know why. One minute he was forcing me to tell him why I played music, the next, he was forcing me out. Normally I would have objected, yet there was something in his eyes. Almost an animalistic loathing. I decided it would be best to just leave and wait for him to cool off." Mick nodded and poured two glasses of blood for us before saying anything again.

"There's really only one thing—well, two—that could get Josef to act like that: vampires being revealed to the world," Mick said.

"And the other?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that right now. Josef should tell you if he wants to. So what are you going to do now?" Mick asked. I shrugged and took a sip of blood. I wrinkled my nose at the difference of taste between this blood and fresh blood. "I see you've taken to Josef's taste in blood," Mick commented.

"I guess I have. About what I'm going to do, I was wondering if I could crash here for a day or so. If it's okay with you, of course," I said.

"I guess so. I don't really have room for more than one vampire though. Maybe I should call Josef, see if he listens to me," Mick said, reaching for his phone. I handed it to him and finished the glass of blood and set it down in the sink. Slightly anxious—I didn't really know why—I started pacing back and forth.

"Josef, how are you?"

"_Fine," _Josef growled. _"Why are you calling me? And especially now when I'm feeding."_

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were feeding. I was just wondering why you kicked Nike out of your house."

"_I found out she…" _there was a small pause, nearly undetectable, _"stole money from me. I can't have that happen to me. It's not right. No one steals money from Josef Kostan and lives to tell about it."_

"Liar, she would never steal money from you. Now, would you mind telling the truth?"

"_Yes."_

"Then would you mind taking her in, regardless of what she did?"

"_Yes. She's too observant. Spend an hour with her; she'll find out all of your secrets and then grill you about them."_

"I doubt that. Yet please, it would be like sending out someone who thinks that they're invincible. Wait, it would be like that. Come on Josef, does she even know the finer nuances to being a vampire?"

"_She found out about Sarah, Mick! I won't let her back in!" _Josef shouted. Mick stiffened.

"Really? How? I knew you over fifty years and I never even had an inkling that she existed."

"_That's what I'm talking about. She's too perceptive, even more so than any other vampire I've ever known."_

"Still Josef, I really think you should at least talk to her. Explain to her why you're doing this."

"_Fine. I'll talk to her. I'll be at your place in half an hour," _Josef said grudgingly and he hung up. Mick set the phone down. I stopped pacing and turned to look at Mick.

"Okay, start grilling me with questions. I know you're begging to do that," I said.

"Fine then. Start with telling me what you notice around this room," Mick answered. I sighed and started turning in place to look around this room.

"First thing I notice: There are several secret panels behind that bookshelf, and that most of the books are non-fiction, with the lone exception of a copy of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. _Next, I see that you have a foot locker, looking like its original, and from World War Two. And it's yours. I smell only one blood type in the secret compartment in the kitchen and you only have pictures of one person. I'm assuming you two were involved at some point or another," I said. I looked back at Mick's dumbstruck face.

"You're right. About all of that. That girl's Beth, she was a human. I saved her from my ex-wife when she was young and later, we started to date," Mick told me, sitting down on the couch in front of the curious fire that was always burning in his apartment.

"Was?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She was heavily involved with her work. She was killed by some gang members when she arrested their leader. She wouldn't allow me to Turn her, even though she was dying. It was three years ago, yet the wounds are still fresh," Mick said softly. He gave a humorless laugh and looked back up at me. "How can I just share this with you? I barely even share this stuff with Josef, and I've known him for over fifty years."

"I don't know. Josef doesn't seem like the kind of guy who you could confide in to me. Maybe you feel like you can confide in me because I know what it's like to lose someone you care about. I don't know though. A lot of people would confide in me back at school," I said.

"Who could you have lost? Surely your life's been better than mine," Mick said.

"I lost my cousin when I was young to cancer. I absolutely adored her, and then she just died. Then, less than a year later, I found out I had to move, so I then lost the one guy I have ever truly loved and all of my friends to the sands of time and memory. And I've been cursed with an imagination," I said, smiling ruefully.

"I'm sorry," Mick said. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, when we heard Mick's door open.

"Mick! Where is she?" Josef called. Mick stood up and walked over to Josef, talking to him. I didn't catch what they were saying; I was focusing on composing myself before Josef saw me. I hadn't thought much about before I had moved. It was always painful, and the pain hadn't dulled over the years.

"Nike. Would you mind talking with me?" Josef said, obviously straining to remain cordial.

"No," I replied, my voice nearly cracking. I was on the edge of tears, yet I had to swallow it until I got to someplace private. I stood up and walked over to Josef.

"I want to show you somewhere. I think it might be best if we talk in true privacy," Josef said. I nodded, not trusting my voice to remain level. Thinking about my life back in Colorado, where I had lived before I moved, was a lot more painful now that I realized that if I hadn't moved I wouldn't be stuck in this existence that I was in now. "Come on," Josef said softly, taking my hand and leading me downstairs. "What's wrong, Nike?"

"I'm just thinking about what could have been. It's always painful…" I replied, my mind's music player turning on _I'm Not That Girl_ from Wicked, just for me to listen to.

"I wanted to offer you a place to stay again. I acted rashly. It was just because no one ever knew or guessed about the human girl I was involved with before."

"Sarah. What happened between you two?"

"I tried to Turn her. She's been in a coma since then. She's been in a coma for over fifty years. And it's my fault," Josef said, his voice becoming almost imperceptibly rawer. I nodded.

"It must be hard for you live with that."

"You can't even imagine."

"I can…" I said, my mind drifting to what would happen if I had effectively killed that boy from Colorado who I was so close to. It was too painful for even me to dwell on for too long.

"So, are you going to stay at my place?"

"Yes. I think that that would be best."

"What about what happened at the piano? Don't you think that could make things…awkward?"

"I can get over it. God knows I've done it hundreds of times already."

"Well then, it's decided. Why don't we go home?" Josef asked. I gratefully nodded, and we walked to his sports car to go home.


	8. Chapter 8 The Party

**A/N: Hey, sorry for having this update slightly late. I've been completely swamped with homework with it being so close to midterms. Anyways, Nike is put into some awkward situations here, all of which have Josef in them. She also nearly collapses. So, in order to figure out why she collapses, here is the next installment of this story. Please enjoy and review. PLEASE review!!! I live for reviews only… **

When we got home Josef pulled one of his freshies close to him and took some of her blood. John walked up to me and offered me his wrist. Trailing my hand along his collar bone and down his arm, I lifted his wrist up to my mouth and took a bite. After a few moments, I pulled away. I could tell that John wanted me to take more, yet, denying his wishes, I walked upstairs, wiping a stray drop of blood off of my lips.

***

"Well, well, well. Talk about me leading someone on," I heard Josef mutter a few minutes later. Well, it felt like a few moments later, yet in reality it was a few hours later. After having left John waiting in the main room, I had gone up to my room and, like normal, had stripped my shirt and fallen asleep in the freezer. I sat up, forgetting that I had no shirt on and glared at Josef.

"Must you always wake me up? It's not very fun," I said.

"I can't say I'm sorry. Do you always sleep with your shirt off? If you are, then I must try to peek on you more often," Josef said with a smirk. I looked down and realized that it was true. I pulled on a shirt sitting on the side of the freezer and glared at Josef again.

"Oh, I just bet you're enjoying every moment of this," I muttered.

"Yes, yes, I am. I don't know why you don't wear a shirt more often. It suits you so well," Josef said, further provoaking me.

"Shut up. So, I expect that there is an actual reason for your visit other than for seeing me like this?" I asked him, stepping out of the freezer.

"Yes. I'm having a party downstairs, and I want you to come," Josef said, also standing up.

"No. I'm not coming. I hate parties," I told him quickly. Josef sighed, nodded and walked out. I stared at him as he walked out; I wasn't expecting that to be so easy. I decided to get into a small black dress that Simone had gotten me, in case Josef found a way to force me to go to his party. After I got changed, I walked back to my music room and pulled put a jazz book. I started playing it on the piano and quickly got soaked into it's odd rhythms.

***

"Hello there," I said, smelling a vampire walk into the music room as I was turning the page.

"Hello. I heard you playing from downstairs. I was wanting to know who the mysterious player was," he said. I turned around and looked this intruder up and down. He was a Hispanic vampire, looking to be in his thirties, yet, with him being a vampire, he could be any age. "I'm Guillermo, by the way." He held his hand out to be shaken, and I ignored it. As he stepped closer, I noticed a faint smell of formaldehyde on him, a smell which I have detested since sixth grade bio.

"I'm Nike," I told him softly.

"I know. Josef's been spreading your name around the party," Guillermo commented. He walked over to me and sat down next to me, trying to play the song I had the book open to. And he was trashing it.

"No, it's a Bb, not a B natural," I told him. "And an Ab also. Quit!" I finally exclaimed. He was trashing this song beyond belief.

"I'll stop if you come down to the party," Guillermo said. I sighed. So this was how Josef was going to get me to go down to the party.

"How much is he paying you?"

"He's promised to buy blood from me every week that I work at the morgue. It'll add up over time," Guillermo said.

_That explains the smell on him… _I thought. "Fine then, I'll go down with you," I said reluctantly. He took his hands off the piano and led me out of my flat. Outside the door, Josef was leaning against the wall.

"I'll take her from here," Josef said, taking my arm. "And I'll place my first order tomorrow," Josef added. Guillermo nodded and walked down to the party. I followed Josef over to the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the size of the crowd. There were easily over a hundred people there.

"Do—Do I have to be here?" I asked softly, pressing into Josef's side.

"Yes, everyone's waiting to meet you," Josef replied.

"Everyone?" I asked again my voice shaking out of terror. I had never liked crowds in my entire life, and this was one of the largest crowds I had ever seen. Josef shepherded me down the stairs and into the massive crowd.

"Hey there, Nike," Mick said as Josef and I made it down the stairs. "Nike, you don't look so good. What's wrong?" Mick looked into my eyes. I was having a problem focusing, what with this huge crowd and rock music blaring in my sensitive ears. I had finally decided to retreat down into my mind, where there was some relief from this. "Josef, why did you force her to come? It's obvious that she doesn't want to be down here."

"I didn't think about that. I was just thinking about how it was so odd that she was leaning into me on the way down the stairs," Josef said, slowing down at the end. "Nike, why didn't you tell me that you didn't like crowds or parties?"

"Tried," I said softly. My knees were threatening to give out. All these bodies pressed so close together, the collective breaths they were breathing, it was too much for me to process.

"I'm sorry. Come on, let's get you back upstairs," Josef said as both him and Mick helped me up the stairs. When we made it back up to my flat, I collapsed against the wall. "What was wrong?"

"Remember how I'm so perceptive?" I asked them. They nodded as an answer. "That's my normal level of perception. Multiply that to vampire senses and then add the effects of the stimulating environment, then imagine how bad it would be. There were over a hundred people there. I was picking up small details about all of them. After a few minutes, it's too much for me to process."

"I'm sorry. I just thought you were brushing me off when you said you weren't going to come," Josef said. I shook my head sadly.

"I could never just brush you off," I told him. "I care too much about you…" Josef looked at me, for once without a reply. For a few minutes there was a slightly awkward pause and Josef stood up and walked off, Mick following behind.

"Finally you're in an awkward silence for once," Mick said when the door closed. I smiled and picked up a book that I had been reading.


	9. Chapter 9 Let's Go

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Midterms were hell, and I've been swamped with other work. Well, here's the next chapter. Important things happen. Unanswered questions from the actual series are answered. Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner, yet I don't know. So, here's the next chapter. Please read, then review. I don't care if you think my story is trash, just review. I don't even care if you tell me that my story is trash. I just want reviews. They let me know that someone out there is reading…I guess I had better stop ranting…Next chapter:**

"So what was that about you finally being in awkward situations?" I asked Josef when he walked into my flat when the music from downstairs finally died.

"I'm renowned for loving awkward situations. I love watching people's reaction to it," Josef said. "Now that I was in one though, I'm not sure I like it so much. They're so…awkward." I laughed.

"Thus the term 'awkward silence'," I told Josef. "So, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you. Talk to you," Josef replied.

"Why? Are you going to warn me not to get my heart too set on you, the Immortal Heartbreaker?" I asked him.

"The 'Immortal Heartbreaker'. I like that. Think I could copyright it?" Josef asked me. I groaned and threw the book I had been reading at him. As was expected, he caught it. "That wasn't very nice. What was that for?"

"You went from serious to being your usual sarcastic self. It's annoying," I told him. "So, if you didn't want to talk about that, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm moving. As soon as possible too. A DA crashed the party. Some Talbot dude, I think. Well, he walked in on us having refreshments. We took care of him, yet as he died, he said, and I quote, 'They're real'. Obviously this means that he knew about us. Not to mention that now everyone at the party is a suspect for several murders. Since we have absolutely no alibi, we're as good as dead," Josef told me.

"What will happen to me? Will I just stay here? Or go with you?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Josef said.

"Well then, if you want to stall for time as you think about that, why don't we go to Talbot's office and see just how much he knew about us," I proposed. Josef nodded and we walked out to his car.

A few minutes later, Josef and I were walking up to Talbot's office. Josef seemed to have an air of command around him, and I guessed that there wasn't a warrant out for his arrest yet.

"I'm sorry, yet you can't go into his office," a secretary asked when we tried the door. Josef looked over at her.

"We need in. You're a vampire also, and Talbot just busted hundreds of us having drinks. He knew about us," Josef told her.

"No wonder he's been keeping such a close eye on me. Go on in; I'm wondering now how he knew," the secretary said, unlocking the door. Josef nodded and we walked in.

"Josef, start up his computer. See if there's anything on there. I'll start on the file cabinets," I said. Josef nodded and started on the computer. I walked over to the huge filing cabinet and tried a drawer. Surprisingly, it opened right up. I started sorting through the files and came across three very interesting files. "Hey, Josef, come look at these," I said, handing the files to Josef.

"Why on Earth does Talbot have files on me and Mick?" Josef asked.

"Look at the last one, it gets better," I said, looking out the door. "Yet we might want to get out of here soon. I have the sneaking suspicion that there's going to be an arrest warrant out for you tonight and this'll be the first place they look for you." Josef looked up at me.

"Fine. We'll go show this to Mick, and decide what to do at his place," Josef said. We walked down the stairs, and out to Josef's car.

"What are you doing here, Josef?" Mick asked us. Josef shoved past him and tossed the files onto a table. "What's this?" Mick asked as he picked up the folders.

"You'll never guess where I found them," Josef said. "There's one on you, me and one with the name of every vampire ever in LA."

"Don't tell me you found them in Talbot's office?" Mick said. When Josef and I didn't answer, he added, "How?"

"Who knows, Mick, who knows?" Josef said. "Yet you know what this means, don't you?"

"LA's crime rate is sure going to drop like a stone," Mick said, glancing at the files. "Where are you going to go? And what about Nike?"

"I don't know; I'm stalling right now. I'm just thinking that we need to get out of here soon," Josef replied. Right then, there was a loud banging on the door. Josef and Mick both turned to the door.

"This is the police! Open up in there! We have a warrant for Mick St. John's arrest!" Someone shouted.

"Stab us!" Josef said quickly.

"What?" I replied, not understanding what he wanted me to do.

"Stab us with wooden stakes! We'll be fine, yet we'll seem dead. It's the only way for us to get out of this. Here," Josef said, handing me two. I hesitated, not wanting to do this.

"Open up! We're going to crash through the door if you don't!" the police said.

"Come on! We don't have time!" Mick said. "We don't like this solution, yet it's the only way. We're too high to jump off the side of the building and that's the only exit! Do it! We'll meet back up at the hospital. Ask for Guillermo." I nodded, and quickly stabbed both of them with a stake. They dropped to the floor, and the police crashed in.

"Are they dead?" an African-american man asked me. Slowly, I nodded. "What's your name?"

"Nike. Nike Minuit," I replied softly, forcing my voice to sound weak.

"Nike…Are you that girl who went missing a few days ago?" the man asked. I nodded again. "Come on, I'll get you back to your parents." Together, we walked down and out of the apartment complex. As we stood next to the emergency vehicles, I saw two body bags follow us out. One for Mick, and the other for Josef. "Miss, I'm going to need a statement," the man said, yet I didn't hear him, seeing as how I was running through the alley behind him, trying to get to the hospital before Mick and Josef.

***

"Why are you here?" Guillermo asked me when I ran in. "I'm not really free right now."

"Mick and Josef are headed here. They're in body bags, staked," I replied. Guillermo nodded, and we heard people coming down the hallway.

"Hide in my office really quickly," Guillermo told me. I nodded and hid in the office.

"Two more tonight? Great," Guillermo moaned.

"Oh, get over it," someone said. They walked out and I came out of my hiding place. Guillermo was unzipping the body bags.

"Get that stake out of Josef," Guillermo said. I nodded and pulled the stake out of Josef's chest. Josef gasped when the stake left his chest, and Guillermo handed him a glass of blood.

"Might I ask what brought on these extreme measures?" Guillermo asked.

"Arrest warrant out for us. And just to let you know, you need to clear out of town. All of the vampires do," Mick said. "Someone told Talbot about us. Lance, I think, gave him the names. His smell was on those files." Guillermo nodded.

"Here," I said, handing Guillermo the files that Josef and I had found. Guillermo glanced over them.

"Fine. I'll let these guys know. You guys had better clear out of town though. There's the back door," Guillermo motioned towards a door, "and you can use my car. The keys are on my desk."

"Thanks," Josef said, picking up the keys and together, Mick, Josef and I walked out to the car.


	10. Chapter 10 Guillermo's POV

**A/N: Hello loyal readers! I've decided to take a small break from Nike and Josef for a chapter while they clear out of LA. Just to let you know, not much with them will happen, except for them driving west as they're accompanied by Mick. (Note: There will be absolutely no slash during this time!!! I utterly hate slash between Josef and Mick.) So, I've decided to write a small chapter from Guillermo's POV. I'll get the next Josef, Nike and Mick chapter up soon. So, on with the story!**

_How on earth could this happen?_ I thought as I quickly started packing things. _Why on Earth does Lance want another Reign of Terror? It's utterly stupid, considering his family barely survived the last one. This is going to be a vampire apocalypse if those names get out into the public! _Just as I was going to leave, I heard some humans walk in.

"Guillermo?" one of them asked. "Would you mind coming with us for a brief moment? We have a few questions we would like to ask you." I looked over at them."

"Can't you ask them here? And can you ask them quickly? I need to get going, some family emergencies turned up and I need to go take care of them," I replied, hoping that they weren't going to inquire about the mysterious events surrounding Talbot's death.

"We have reason to believe that you were involved with the DA Ben Talbot. Where were you last night around midnight?" the man said. I made a show of thinking about it, even though I knew exactly where I was then.

"I believe I was in my office. There are no cameras seeing me there, yet you will also see that the cameras outside my office never recorded me leaving. So, is there anything else you'd like to ask?" I replied, smoothly lying.

"Yes, does the word 'vampire' mean anything to you?"

"Vampires?" I asked, forcing myself to look confused, "The 'I vant to drink your blood' vampires? No, not really other than they make for good gory horror movies. Nosferatu was pretty good." The man nodded and walked out with the other human. Once they were out of earshot, I breathed a deep sigh and picked up my phone to call the cleaner.

***

"Yes?" the cleaner asked, "What do you want, Guillermo? You can't possibly need a clean-up since you never leave that freezer of yours."

"We've been revealed. Humans know about us. We need to clear out every vampire in LA. Now," I told her.

"How? We killed the two traitors that were going to reveal our presence. That should have quashed the problem," she replied, as cold as ever.

"Supposedly a vamp by the name of Lance told a DA about us. Even gave him every vamp's name that lived in LA. You're on it, along with me, Logan and several hundred more. I haven't been able to think of a single vampire whose name is not on this list."

"I guess that we should play it safe and leave the city. I'll alert others while you're on your way out. Where will you go?"

"Probably the Yucatan. I believe I still remember some of my native Mayan. You?"

"I'll end up heading back to Europe. Don't expect my number," she said as she hung up. I looked around the office that had provided so many vamps blood to drink and walked out, headed south to the land of my birth.

**A/N2: Just to let you guys know, Guillermo's past is entirely made up. I wasn't able to find anything about his past, so I decided to make it up. So, the crime rate in LA will drop like a stone, and Josef, Mick, and Nike will return to being the main characters in the next chapter. I'll try to update before the week's over, yet I wouldn't plan on it. Please review! I haven't had a single review so, just one would be nice. **


	11. Chapter 11 A New Home?

**A/N: Hey there, I told you I would get the next chapter up early and here I am, having uploaded this chapter early. Wait—isn't it early? Well, I wrote it early, so shouldn't that count for something? No? Fine then. **

**Kay, so here is the next installment. I wouldn't take my word for anything about Aspen here, yet it is a real town in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, has some of the best snow on the continent and is an awesome place. Other than that though, I wouldn't trust my word. It's a sad day, yet this chapter is where my story muse has run dry, so I'll need a lot of help if you guys want to say anything more of Nike's life. **

About a day of straight driving we made it into the mountain town of Aspen, Colorado. It was nice for me to finally make it back to Colorado, my home state, after nearly ten years away. I looked out the heavily tinted windows and at the large snowy mountains.

"I wouldn't mind if we just stopped here. I love the snow. Not to mention that I've always wanted to learn how to snowboard. Or ski," I said whistfully.

"Well then, find an apartment complex, we'll see how much it costs to life here," Josef said as he turned onto the main street.

"It's an insane amount. Not to mention there are several major celebrities here, with the paparazzi following them," I replied, looking back at Josef. "You'd have to learn not to spend every spare dollar too. If we don't ski or snowboard on a regular basis, you might as well keep driving."

"Like I said, find a place to stop, and we'll see," Josef said. Mick smiled and I would have sworn that he was about to make some comment, yet none came. I continued looking out the window and I saw an apartment complex coming up. I don't know what it was, yet it felt safe, like we were welcome there.

"Josef, pull into the parking lot of that complex. I think that that's the place we would be able to stay," I told Josef. He looked off in the direction of the complex, nodded and pulled into the parking lot. He parked the car and went to open the door.

"Wait!" I said. I looked at the tv running in the open windows and saw Josef's face plastered on the news. "They're talking about how tragic you death was. How untimely and odd it was that you died. They've moved onto me now. About how I was kidnapped again just before being reunited with my parents." Josef sat back in his seat.

"Well then, I'll see you later. It's obvious that I have to go and inquire about an apartment," Mick said as he walked out of the car. Josef and I watched as he walked in, talked to the woman at the front desk and walk back out.

"So?" Josef asked. "What does she want?"

"It's free for us vampires. It turns out that this is a vampire haven. She has one room left, and is letting us have it. She wants to meet us, get pictures of us, so that she can get us new documents. And clothes," Mick replied. Josef nodded and we walked into the office.

"Hello," the woman at the front desk said as we walked in. She had an athletic build, blonde hair and perceptive green eyes. "I'm the owner of these apartments. It's very interesting, I've gotten several hundred calls from various other vampires from LA and the surrounding suburbs. Do you have any idea why?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. Someone decided to reveal every vampire's name in the surrounding area. We don't know how far the information spread and how complete the information was, yet we decided to evacuate just in case. We don't want a vampire apocalypse to happen," Mick told her. "Yet about the living arrangements?"

"Right. So, here are your keys. You have apartment number 6 of the third building, the one that caters to the highest of vampire society. It's the one farthest in the back. The apartment is fully furnished with the basic guidelines to living here in a convenient booklet inside. You will have complementary all-access mountain passes, including any initial lessons, and the rent will be free for the first month until you have your affairs in order and a job. Clothes will be provided and sent up to your apartment within the day with new official documents. If you would kindly fill out these papers, I'll be using them for names and such for the official documents. If you have a new persona created, yet no papers, you'll need to use the exact same information that you used for that. I assume you know, yet it's just procedure. If I'm not here, then ask for the manager. We do have one human employee, so if I'm not here, you'll need to be careful as to what you say and do around the front desk and just ask for the management." She smiled apologetically and handed us a form to fill out. "Now that formalities are done with, I'm Allison."

"I'm Josef," Josef said as he started pulling out a paper and filling out the form.

"I'm Mick, and that's Nike," Mick replied.

"I figured. Your pictures have been plastered all over the internet and news. It's good that you came here rather than somewhere else. If you did go somewhere else, then there would be a problem," Allison said. "So, where and when are you guys from? I was born just after the turn of the century, during 1901. In San Francisco."

"I was born during 1916 in LA. Participated in WWII, watched my best friend nearly die, and was turned by my ex-wife. I've lived an extremely boring life," Mick said.

"And you, Josef?" Allison asked.

"It's been a while. I was born sometime before the 1600's, yet there weren't many calendars to see," Josef replied absently. "Nike has the best answer though."

"Well then, Nike, let's hear it," Allison asked. I sighed and put the form aside.

"I was born just over sixteen years ago. About six hours east of here in Denver," I told her.

"When were you turned then?" she asked me.

"I was turned about two, two and a half weeks ago. Three max," I replied.

"I haven't met anyone that young in ages. So how are you with these much older vampires?" Allison said.

"Through a series of events. Being Turned, traveling to LA and refusing to go along with what my sire wanted me to do. My sire dropped me at Josef's doorstep and I've been living with Josef ever since," I replied.

"Oh. Well, I hope that you aren't completely hating this new chapter of life," Allison said. I nodded and turned to the forms that required my attention. I filled them out quickly, not really encountering any problems. I made up a new name on the spot, Nichole Mitchell, that I figured would do. Handing the papers back to Allison, she looked over the papers, nodded and followed Josef and Mick out to the car.

When walked into the apartment I stopped dead in my tracks. Despite having lived at Josef's extravagant house for a week or so, I hadn't grown used to what wealth a vampire can aquire due to living forever. Marble floors, gold leaf celing tiles, and large north-facing windows were just some of the things in the apartment. Josef looked around, grumbling about how small it was and his sat down at the couch.

"Well, I'm quite tired, considering I'm a vampire, so I think I'm headed to bed. Nike, why don't you choose the first room?" Josef suggested. I nodded and headed to one of the rooms on the second floor. There was a small living area (with an awesome view) and a smaller room within that had the actual freezer to sleep in.

"I'll take this room," I called back out to them, and I decided to just head to the freezer, and fall asleep, rather than enjoy the wonderful view.

***

I woke up a few hours later from a huge crashing noise. I stood up, stretched, and walked out to the living room.

"What do you mean that no freshies are allowed? That's unheard of!" Josef said.

"I mean exactly what I said Mr. Johnson. No humans, except for the one human employee, are allowed on the property. Which includes freshies. I know that must seem ghastly, yet we can't have people coming on fine, yet leaving like they're completely drunk or with little blood. Despite you thinking that this is a large town, it's actually quite small and the police notice things like that more so than in the larger cities. We also don't have any contacts in the police force, so we have absolutely no clue when the police might come. We can't risk exposure, Mr. Johnson," Allison said. "O- is in the fridge if you want it though. Other blood types, too. All labeled. Newer blood is in the back, older is in the front. Your new documents and clothes are in the labeled suitcases. Good day, Mr. Kai Johnson." Allison walked out and Josef kicked the air.

"I hate bagged blood. Hate it, hate it, hate it!" Josef kicked the air again. I walked down, going to try and calm him. He turned around and looked at me. "Who does she think she is, to talk to me?" he asked me.

"No freshies allowed? That's too bad," I said.

"Don't even act sarcastic about it. It's a blasted tragedy! Who does she think I am, that, that, that beetle-headded, beslubbering, canker-blossom!" Josef said, obviously fuming.

"You must be mad, going to Shakespearean insults," I said softly. "Alison thinks you are exactly what you _are. _No matter what you want to think, you are just Kai Johnson, a nobody. Josef, even if you made sure that you inherited your money, you still need to build up your rep here. In Colorado, there's that small-town feel in most towns. She's right that the police would pick up on things more, and we were just victims of exposure. We should know more than her about these things," I told Josef. He nodded.

"I guess you're right. Speaking of which, we should probably go over the papers she made up and start calling each other by our new names," Josef—now Kai—said.

"Fine. I'd best go apologize. Blood's in the fridge and the suitcases are labeled," Josef said as he walked out of the apartment. Mick stepped out of his room and looked over at me.

"What's got him so riled up?" Mick asked.

"No humans—i.e. freshies—allowed on the premises," I replied simply, looking in the fridge at what blood types there were. "What type do you want?" I asked him.

"What?"

"What blood type do you want? To drink,"

"A+, please," Mick replied. I nodded, pulled the A+ out of the fridge, grabbed two glasses and poured us each a glass. "You know, I've never had to relocate before. Never. I would just go underground for a few years, then resurface."

"I don't really see how that's possible, especially if you use the same name every time. Surely someone would see it," I replied after I finished my glass of blood.

"Someone actually did. Of course, I did attack him, yet he still figured out what I was," Mick replied. "So, do you want to go check out the mountains? I'd have to learn though…"

"No. Just because it's snowing, doesn't mean that people won't expect us to wear all-out snowboard gear. When it's closer to summer, people go in shorts, even bikinis sometime. So, I at least, need to continue hiding out here for a while. I was contemplating checking out that bookshelf," I replied. Mick nodded. I walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed some random book and started reading. It turned out to be Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. My favorite.

**A/N2: Hey, so if you want any more, you'll need to review! My muses are stuck so that Josef and Nike will never get together like I want them to. And it will just keep going with boring stuff and I'll end up having to kill someone off. Like Josef maybe. So, if you don't want Josef to die, please review. **


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